28/10/2018
Question: Are there any references and citations from the Bible about the Coming of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of God be upon him)? Yes. There are several citations in the Bible prophesying the coming of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessing of God be upon him. Isaiah 42:4 says, "He will not fail nor be discouraged, till he has established justice in the earth." The Ministry of Jesus, peace be upon him, lasted only three years and at the time of his departure from this world it could not be truthfully said that 'he established justice in the earth'. However, Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him, preached for 23 years and most certainly 'established justice in the earth' before he departed from the earth. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that verses 1-13 refer to the coming of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him. Deuteronomy 18:18 "I will raise for them a Prophet like you (Moses) from among their brethren and will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them, all that I command him." Let me make some comments about the above: Christians believe that this is a reference to Jesus, peace be upon him. One important word here is "Prophet". Christians believe Jesus is the son of God not a prophet of God. Another important word is "brethren". If it were Jesus the word would have been "children" because Jesus, peace be upon him, came from the children of Isaac. Since Ishmael, peace be upon him, was the brother of Isaac, peace be upon him, the reference is therefore to the children of Prophet Ishmael, peace be upon him, who will be brethren to the children of Isaac, peace be upon him. Again the only Prophet from the brethren of the Jews and the Christians was Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him. The next important phrase is " ... like you (Moses)". Even a cursory comparison will show us that Jesus, peace be upon him, was very unlike Prophet Moses, peace be upon him. Prophet Moses' birth was natural whereas the birth of Jesus was miraculous without a father, to a virgin, peace be upon her. Prophet Moses married and had children, Jesus did not marry and of course did not have any children. The ministry of Jesus, peace be upon him, lasted three years and did not see the laws of God establish in his time. Prophet Moses, peace be upon him, preached the law of God for many decades and saw in his time, the law of God established. Comparing Prophet Moses, peace be upon him, with Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him, brings out an amazing similarity. Muhammad's birth was natural, he was married and had children; preached the law of God for 23 years and saw in his own time God's Law established in his land. The phrase: "I will put My words in his mouth", takes on great significance because Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him, was unlettered; he did not know how to read or write. Normally God would put the message in the Prophet's mind. In this case attention is drawn towards "words" being put into the "mouth". Prophet Muhammad's sayings as well as eye witness accounts describe his receiving the verses of the Holy Qur'an, and his tongue moving with the words being put in his mouth. Turning to the New Testament, let us look at John 14:15-16. It says: "15. If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another 'comforter' (helper in other versions), that he may abide with you forever." Also John 15:26-27, John 16:5-8 and John 16:12-14. Jesus, peace be upon him, spoke the Gospel in his native language which is Aramaic. The earliest translations were in Greek. It is very very interesting that the Greek word which was eventually translated into English as "Comforter" (Helper) is "Parqaleeta" and the meaning of this word is "one whom people praise exceedingly". It does not mean "the Holy Ghost" which is what we are told the so called "Comforter" means. I do not have the slightest clue as to how this meaning was given to the word Parqaleeta. What is even more fascinating is the fact that the name Muhammad has exactly the same meaning as Parqaleeta "one whom people praise exceedingly"! One of my friends wrote very beautifully in his book about the meaning of the word Muhammad: "The most praised one. He is praised upon earth and in the heavens, from the beginning to the end, by men jinn and angels, rocks and trees and animals, by prophets before him since Adam, by saints until Doomsday. As all of this cannot give him due praise, we beg God to praise him. He is the only One who truly knows the value and the mystery of His Muhammad and He is the only One who can truly praise him." The celestial name of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him, is Ahmad. I will quote from the Holy Qur'an about the connection of Prophet Muhammad with the Bible as follows: "And remember Moses said to his people: 'O my people! why do ye vex and insult me though ye know that I am the apostle of Allah (sent) to you?' Then when they went wrong Allah let their hearts go wrong: for Allah guides not those who are rebellious transgressors. "And remember Jesus the son of Mary said: 'O Children of Israel! I am the Prophet of Allah (sent) to you confirming the Law (which came) before me and giving glad Tidings of a Prophet to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.' But when he came to them with Clear Signs they said 'This is evident sorcery!' " — Al-Qur'an 61:5-6 Allah is one of the 100 names of the One and only God. Allah is the name of His Essence while the other 99 are the names of His Attributes. As for "abide with you forever" since Prophet Muhammad is the final Prophet and the Holy Qur'an the final Testament and Revelation from God, his teachings which are more or less the same as of all the other Prophets and Messengers of God, Divine teachings of God, he will abide in his teachings forever